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Elena Casagrande is replaced by Jason Armstrong, who, with Brian Miller on colors, gives the book a Saturday morning cartoon makeover, which I kind of like? A radical change like this, however admirable in the abstract, in practice, takes some time to get used. I found myself constantly pausing to remind myself who the characters are, none more than Kate, who looks nothing like her previous selves (brown hair and pearls?).

The storytelling is fine, but David Tischman and Mariah Huehner are forcing the dialogue, especially trying to make Angel quick-witted and Gunn sound “street”.

Atomic Robo #2 (Red 5)

More period fun as Robo tries to lead a double life, doing science and fighting crime. An exceptionally cool set of pin-ups is included in this issue, too.

Avengers Academy #7 (Marvel)

Christos Gage turns his attention to the teachers, especially Hank Pym. Continues to be a strong book.

Batwoman #0 (DC)

Bruce Wayne stops by to surveil Kate Kane and Batwoman. I agree with the discussion on 3 Chicks Review Comics that it might have been better to include this as part of the “Road Home” comics rather than billing it as a Batwoman prelude. For readers who did not read the Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III Detective Comics run, this issue is probably useful as an orientation to Kate and Batwoman, but for anyone who had been looking forward to the start of the new ongoing series, it is probably a letdown, at least narratively, artistically, the back-and-forth between Williams and Amy Reeder works well.

Birds of Prey #7 (DC)

A new story arc begins with Oracle deciding she needs to fake her death because too many people know that she is Barbara Gordon (or vice versa, I guess). There’s one artistic team on this issue, Ardian Syaf (pencils), Vincente Cifuentes (inks), and Nei Ruffino (colors), which is good, and I am optimistic about what Gail Simone has started in this issue.

Black Widow #8 (Marvel)

Duane Swierczynski’s storytelling gains depth in this issue, mining the Cold War in more personal ways for Natasha/Natalia, and reintroducing Fatale as an ally. However, even if I were so inclined to go out buy Widowmaker, I’m not sure that this storyline is one I would choose to follow, or would feel that I could not afford to categorize as trade/wait. The art, from Manuel Garcia (pencils), Lorenzo Ruggiero (inks), and Jim Charlampidis (colors), is still pushing the soft core too much, but they avoid the worst excesses of the preceding issues.

B.P.R.D. – Hell on Earth: New World #5 (Dark Horse)

The first arc of the new series comes to a close and it comes around to Abe and Ben, and some further clues about what’s to come. A lot to look forward to from B.P.R.D. and Hellboy in 2011.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #40 (Dark Horse)

The penultimate issue, and Angel kills Giles (also the Master), Buffy destroys the Seed of the World and seems to go catatonic. A lot to address in the next chapter.

Fringe: Tales from the Fringe #6 (Wildstorm)

A second mini-series comes to an end with a story about alternate Olivia, which is a nice touch. I assume that DC will continue to put these books out post-Wildstorm. No, they aren’t the best that comics has to offer, but for fans of the show, they are effective uses of the medium as an adjunct to TV, and the artistic standards are pretty high, higher than some ongoing series I read.

Generation Hope #2 (Marvel)

Kieron Gillen keeps the action in Tokyo, and Rogue takes center stage. I like Salvador Espin’s style, and Jim Charlampidis brings the same earth-y tones he does to Black Widow, but why does Rogue have to be drawn so that she is practically falling out of her top?

Hellboy: Double Feature of Evil (Dark Horse)

Richard Corben and Mike Mignola collaborate on a couple of classic horror stories. Not the strongest of their work together on this title, but I’m not sure that there is an ongoing series that does one-shots like this better than Mignola and his partners. I think any fan of horror and gothic literature could read this issue and enjoy it, not just Hellboy regulars.

I, Zombie #8 (DC/Vertigo)

Chris Roberson and Michael Allred continue to broaden this title into an ensemble piece, but without losing Gwen as its core. Fun sequence with the revived vampire in a UO hoodie. Nice to see when Eugene emerges in the story, rather than just being in the background.

Lady Mechanika #1 (Aspen)

So Joe Benitez’s series gets underway proper, and the writing is not as strong here as in the #0 preview. The Victoriana is more forced, but Mechanika herself remains well drawn and conceived, with a clear voice of her own. As well as she is handled, I wish that Benitez could have resisted introducing the female Commander now chasing Mechanika with such an overtly sexualized pose.

Murderland #3 (Image)

David Hahn draws a bunch of cool looking people doing … I’m not really sure, but they are really intent on it. I cannot follow the story here, and am even more confused by looking at the inside cover and seeing that somehow there are two stories going in this issue. Not sure what Stephen Scott has in mind here except riffing on cultural references to Baltimore.

Mystery Society #5 (IDW)

So the first (only?) story comes to a close. This title settled down into a genial mode, fun, but not over the top. The cast is a little large to be contained by a short run like this. I would like to see more for Fiona Staples’s art if nothing else.

Spike: What happens in Vegas, Slays in Vegas #3 (IDW)

Brian Lynch brings Drusilla into the story, and we get some confirmation that Beck has romantic feelings for Spike. The use and introduction of Dru shows how well Lynch gets these characters. More ambivalent about the way that Nicola Zanni draws the characters. Dru is too voluptuous, head to toe, than she should be. Looking at Franco Urru’s cover makes me wish he was drawing the inside, too.

Uncanny X-Force #2 & #3 (Marvel)

I am liking this title very much. Rick Remender is writing a story that taps into X-Men history, but not one that requires a PhD in the subject to grasp. The cast of characters is suitably dark and damaged, and Jerome Opena draws everyone as long, lean, and athletic looking, a nice change from the usual steroidal and pneumatic art you find in so many Marvel books (the one exception is Wolverine, who is short and stocky as he should be). Dean White’s colors tend to the gray, which fits the cast and the story. Now, if they could only get permission to get Betsy out of that bathing suit.

Uncanny X-Men #530 (Marvel)

Greg Land is back on pencils and so everyone looks like a model or porn star. Emma may wear this well, but for others, it is ridiculous (does anyone really imagine Scott Summers as looking like he just walked off of a photo shoot for men’s cologne?) Mostly, I find the uniformity of the characters to be boring, or even depressing in the case of the X-Men. These are supposed to be outcasts. If every mutant looked as plastic-y beautiful as they do here, wouldn’t more people want to be mutants, instead of rejecting them? On the other hand, Matt Fraction has a tight story this month.

TPBs:

Orc Stain Volume 1 (Image)

I enjoyed James Stokoe’s Wonton Soup books, and considered pulling this series monthly, but decided to wait for the trade instead. I’m not sure how this would read issue-to-issue, the pace is kind of laconic, even as the book does not lack for action, but Stokoe likes slacker dood characters, and his stories tend to move like they do.

The attraction here, as with the earlier series, is the world building, and Stokoe’s imagination seems to run riot with wild ideas for universes made almost entirely from organic material, making everything seem like it could either be food or something that eats. The color work here makes already jam-packed panels seem busy, but I suspect I just need to take a second look without having to follow the narrative as closely.

Despite the self-conscious masculinity of the story and the characters, the one notable woman in the book, Bowie Enocraz Yaramund, the “Poison Thrower”, is self-possessed and powerful in her own right (she even offers direct and indirect comment on the “love nymphs” who make up the remaining women you see). This is perhaps just a good illustration of what happens when an author sets out to write about men being men in a conscious and critical way, instead of presumptively.

Glad I got this. Another good example of what Neil Gaiman does well: asking questions about what characters like this and the stories we tell with them mean. I like how Lex Luthor is used as an organized crime figure more than as a super genius here. Dave McKean’s use of color and collage-like art helps to create different tones for different parts of the narrative. That being said, I’m not entirely sure what the thing means on the whole. Will reward on subsequent readings I suspect.

Global Frequency: Detonation Radio Volume 2 (Wildstorm)

Fast moving action and violence. Warren Ellis uses this volume to show more of Miranda Zero, who I remember as more of a shadowy figure from the first volume. Might work better as a movie franchise or TV series than as a comics series, more time on process, and less on the bloody finishes. Cool covers by Brian Wood.

The New X-Men: New Worlds Volume 3 (Marvel).

I am glad that I started picking these up. Having Emma and Jean together is interesting. Grant Morrison also does good work with the political and cultural themes of difference and acceptance, focusing both on non-mutants on how mutants perceive themselves and their place in the world.

The Perhapanauts Volume 1 (Image)

Not as much pure fun as Volume 0, but still an enjoyable team of misfits book. Todd Dezago and Craig Rosseau work their genres with skill, but there is a predictability to how characters develop and how stories unfold, albeit in a comfortable way.

Nyx: Wannabe (Marvel)

I read the Marjorie Liu written mini before coming to the original and I have mixed feelings about this collection.

I like the art, especially Nelson and Chris Sotomayor’s colors; light pastels are an interesting and unexpected choice for a book working so hard to be gritty and urban. I also like seeing a sustained story about mutants outside the scope of the X-Men (something I liked about the follow-up, too). It makes sense that not all young mutants coming into their powers would have the necessary adult support to keep them safe or to find their way to Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.

On the other hand, Joe Quesada’s writing verges on exploitation fiction, especially in the Zebra Daddy character with his “street” slang, coke sniffing, sharp dressing, misogyny, and pimping. I think that Liu does a better job of getting into the lives of these young, virtually homeless mutants.

Wasteland Book 2: Shades of God & Wasteland Book 3: Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos (Oni Press)

It took me a few pages to get back into this series, to reorient myself to the characters and situations, but once I did, I had no doubts about immediately moving from Book 2 to Book 3. I like Christopher Mitten’s grey scale art, the sketchiness seems perfect for a story about a rebuilding world, and the flashback effect is subtle. Sometimes I find it difficult to distinguish between figures and faces, but by the end of both books, I could readily make out the principal characters. I think that Anthony Johnston does an excellent job of writing the narrative and dialogue that makes the world of Wasteland familiar and yet not at the same time.

Posting this a little late, but here is my October shipment from tfaw:

Monthlies:

Angel #37 (IDW)

I think all anyone needs to know about the current state of this title is that the writing credits are all over the place – three people (four counting the Eddie Hope backup) – with parsing between “plotting” and “writing”. At least the art is fairly settled, fwtw.

Avengers Academy #5 (Marvel)

As always, I read this more carefully than I mean to. This month, Christos Gage offers a typically Marvel take on superheroism and celebrity, with the added background that the kids at the Academy are not, natively, the most upstanding citizens. Add at least one nice visual gag, and you have a pretty good read.

B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth – New World #3 (Dark Horse)

The crossover with Hellboy is coming! I’ll just stipulate now that there will be very few months when B.P.R.D. and/or Hellboy comes in my shipment and they won’t be the best comics I get.

The end game for this series progresses. Very much a moving things forward issue. Little new here, but I do think that Joss Whedon’s active involvement in writing continues to bring clarity to the “season”.

Casanova #3 and #4 (Marvel Icon)

These are dense reads, and a close second to the Hellboy titles for best things I get in my box. In these issues, the meta, which I like, seems a little less arch than in the previous two, or, at least, looser (check out the asides and the “I love comics” panel in #4). I love the curves and fluidity in Ba’s artwork.

I, Zombie #6 (DC/Vertigo)

A not altogether successful diversion about Scott. Still, a title that A and I are reading together. Fun.

Lady Mechanika #0 (Aspen)

Intriguing teaser, pretty much what I hoped for, though I wish Aspen were less soft core-y. Mechanika herself is nothing you won’t find elsewhere, but the ads for the other titles … do people really need comics for this kind of material these days?

S.H.I.E.L.D. #4 (Marvel)

More weirdness involving scientists and prophets. Trying to ponder what it means that Newton is the heavy, or how this deep backstory is going to be connected to the S.H.I.E.L.D. that readers already know.

Spike #1 (IDW)

Decidedly better than Angel this month. Of course, Brian Lynch and Franco Urru have these characters down. I like the idea of moving Spike to Las Vegas. The loss of this series might be the one thing the move to Dark Horse might not improve for this side of the Buffyverse.

Uncanny X-Force #1 (Marvel)

Sets up the first arc of the series. Jerome Opena’s art has a strong sense of movement and an appropriately cool color palette. Decidedly better than some of the more photoreal work in X-Force. I also like Dean White’s Gotham-y cover. I started this subscription because of Rick Remender, and whether that pans out, remains to be seen.

X-23 #2 (Marvel)

Well, this is a disappointment. I thought the first issue set up an interesting story, but that turns out to just be a pretext for plunking Laura into a Wolverine crossover event. Blah.

TPBs:

Black Widow: Deadly Origin (Marvel)

Paul Cornell walks that fine line between critiquing sexism, and male desire and fantasy, and participating in it with this series. What tips it on the side of critique is Natalia/Natasha’s refusal to accept how others, especially Ivan, see her. Tom Raney, Scott Hanna, and Matt Milla’s artwork does not help here, counterposing interesting looking and beautiful flashback sequences with a more polished, and soft core look for the present. Unlike on the covers, though, they do keep Natalia zipped up, for the most part.

Dr. Horrible And Other Horrible Stories (Dark Horse)

This book is pretty much what you would hope for: a fun, witty elaboration on the characters and storyworld for the web serial. This success is no doubt due in no small measure to having a single writer, Zack Whedon, who is also a co-creator of the original show. The artwork is supplied by a variety of interesting people, including Joelle Jones and Farel Dalrymple. My favorite story, artistically, is Penny’s, which features excellent, emotionally resonant work from Jim Rugg, but narratively, the Evil League of Evil chapter made me laugh the most. Despite its charms, I doubt a casual reader would get much from this book.

Her-oes (Marvel)

Like many of the books I get for A, I ended up enjoying this one myself, but I am left unsatisfied by an ending that promises more, more that I doubt very much we will ever see.

Hopeless Savages: Greatest Hits 2000-2010 (Oni Press)

I have wanted to dip into this series, and this collection was a perfect way to do that. I prefer the shorter, slice of life stories in the back of the book, to the higher concept adventures that make up the main chapters, but the Hopeless-Savages grew on me as I made my way through the book. I love the idea of the kids as comics geeks, and think that the creators did well to focus on Zero and Arsenal, each of whom, I think, are more unqiue characters than the other members of the family, although I enjoyed the storylines with Twitch, too. I was happy to see the overt tribute to Love & Rockets, an obvious inspiration for the book.

Perhapanauts Vol. 0 (Image)

I pick up these books every time I get to a Powells and when this “0” volume showed up in iCos, I decided to jump in. Reading this book, my attraction to stories about teams of misfits started to come into focus. That may, in fact, be driving my return to reading comics on a regular basis. Might need a whole blog post on that subject.

Secret Six: Danse Macabre (DC)

Many’s the time I’ve picked up a trade collection and said to myself, “I like this series, but what would make it awesome is if it had undead characters randomly showing up, prancing around and babbling incessantly about things like ‘fear’ and ‘death’ and who they want to kill. Because that’s, you know, soooo scary”. And now with this book, my wish has been fulfilled! Perhaps I have been ruined for all other comics.

In actuality, Gail Simone and John Ostrander make a fair game of adapting “Blackest Night” (I assume) to Secret Six, but even there the, “didn’t I/he/she kill you?”-type jokes only go so far. In the end, I just don’t care, and don’t buy books like this to find out how they fit into the latest ‘universe shaking’ crossover. I wish that DC and Marvel could, every now and again, leave well enough alone and let readers like me hold onto the weird and marginal titles we like, instead of pulling them into storylines devised to make people buy books they don’t normally pay attention to.

Wonder Woman: Contagion (DC)

Gail Simone gives a sweet and heartfelt farewell to Wonder Woman in this collection. The stories themselves are a mix of big fights, and while I prefer the previous collections, which were more tightly drawn together, I appreciate that Simone remained committed to Diana as an epic figure throughout her run on the title. That’s when the character is at her best, I think.

X-Men Forever Vol. 5 (Marvel)

Like a lot of comics readers in my same age group, Chris Claremont pretty much defined the X-Men for me, which is no doubt a major reason why X-Men Forever exists; many of us have disposable income, and pop culture isn’t something you ‘grow out of’ anymore. I like the loopiness of this series, this volume most of that is focused on Kitty, and Claremont certainly knows how to write the soap opera and how to treat the X-Men as one big, complicated family without getting ironic or maudlin. I read this right after having watched X-Men: The Last Stand, and, of the two, the comic comes out much, much better. I also appreciate the series for being in its own little bubble. Indeed, sometimes I wish I had started pulling it monthly.